Front lift superstructure of a two post lift



Feb. 7, 1956 -2,733,777

FRONT LIFT SUPERSTRUCTURE OF A TWO POST LIFT 1. v. K. HOTT r-rrm.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 3, 1950 U Q a III/ 1111111. 1%

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Feb. 7, 1956 1. v. K. HOTT EI'AL FRONT LIFT SUPERSTRUCTURE OF A TWO POST LIFT Filed March 3, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. /0/V MK 1 /077 KEN/V577! E. 563K iii. 1.

United States Patent FRONT LIFT SUPERSTRUCTURE OF A TWO PDST LIFT Ion V. K. Hott and Kenneth E. Berk, Dayton, Uhio, as-

signors to The Joyce-Cridland Company, Dayton, Ghio, a corporation of Ohio Application March 3, 1950, Serial No. 147,456

3 Claims. (Cl. 187-8.74)

This invention relates to a lifting mechanism and more particularly, to a superstructure for a lifting element of a two-post automobile lift.

Two-post automobile lifts are in common use and such a lift comprises separate lifting mechanisms for the front and rear ends of an automobile. The front lifting mechanism is provided witha superstructure which is located between the front wheels of a vehicle positioned above the lift and which engages the front axle or the front wheel suspensions of the vehicle to lift the latter. The rear lifting mechanism is usually provided with axle supporting rails of a length to accommodate the same to automobiles having wheel bases of different lengths. The two lifting mechanisms are controlled by a single controlling mechanism located at a point more or less remote from the lift. When an automobile is driven over the lift the front wheels thereof are located at the respective ends of the front superstructure and. should be spaced therefrom equal distances. If the front wheels arespaced unequal distances from the respective ends of the superstructure the unbalanced Weight of the automobile has a tendency to tilt the superstructure and thus impose lateral strains on the lifting mechanism, and if the tilting is substantial the automobile may tend to move laterally with relation to the superstructure.

One object of this invention is to provide a front superstructure which will automatically counteract any tendency of the automobile to .tilt and will maintain the latter substantially level.

A further object of this invention is to provide a superstructure having two load supporting members pivotally mounted thereon and so connected that the tendency of either of the supporting members to tilt in one direction will tend to move the other supporting member in the opposite direction.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a superstructure that is simple in construction and operation and can be applied to a lifting mechanism without change in the latter.

Other objects of the invention may appear as the superstructure is described in detail.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. l is a top plan view of a superstructure embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Fig. l, partly in elevation and partly broken away; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a closed pit which the superstructure enters when the lift is in its lowered position; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the pit and the housing therefor; and Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

In these drawings we have illustrated one embodiment of our invention and have shown the same as applied to a superstructure which is adapted to enter a pit, below floor level when the lift is in its lowered position, but it is to be understood that the superstructure as a whole, as well as the several parts thereof, may take various forms and may be applied to lifting mechanisms of various kinds without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In that embodiment of the invention here illustrated the 2,733,777 Patented Feb. 7, 1956 superstructure comprises a base 10, here shown as relatively narrow and having vertical re-enforcing flanges 11. This base is provided with means whereby it may be secured to the movable element of the lifting mechanism and in the present construction the base is shown as rigidly secured to the tubular piston 12 of a hydraulic lift which is mounted for movement in a vertical cylinder mounted in the ground below floor level and, in the present instance, having its upper end in the lower portion of a pit, as shown in Fig. 4. The base may rest upon the upper end of the piston and be secured thereto in any suitable manner, as by screws 13 extending through the base and threaded into an attaching ring 14 arranged within and rigidly secured to the piston. Pivotally supported on the base adjacent the respective ends thereof are two load supporting members 15 and 16 adapted, in the present instance, to engage the spring pads 17 of the front wheel suspensions 18 of the vehicle. Members 15 and 16 are mounted for tilting movement about the respective pivots. However, it is to be understood that these supporting members may engage any suitable part of the wheel suspensions, or other parts connected with the axle, this depending largely upon the construction of the vehicle. The two load supporting members 15 and 16 are mounted on substantially parallel axes above the base 10 and, as here shown, the base is provided at each end thereof with a pair of upwardly extending members, or brackets 19 on which the corresponding supporting member is mounted. Each supporting member is provided with a downwardly extending part 20 and a pivot pin 21 extends through the brackets 19 and through the downwardly extending part 20 of the supporting member. Each supporting member is provided adjacent its outer and inner ends with upright parts 22 and 23 to limit the movement of the vehicle with relation thereto.

The two load supporting members are so connected one with the other that if either member tends to tilt about its pivotal axis 21 force is exerted on the other supporting member to tilt the latter about its axis in a direction opposite to the directionof movement of the first mentioned supporting member, thus counteracting the tendency of the first mentioned supporting member to tilt and maintaining the load on the two supporting members substantially level. In the arrangementhere shown, elongate members, or bars 2% are pivotally connected with the downwardly extending parts 2t? of the respective supporting members and extend inwardly therefrom. The inner endsof these elongate members are pivotally connected with the respective ends of a member 25, here shown as a relatively short bar which is supported on the base for movement about an axis between the ends thereof and between the points of connection of the respective elongate members therewith. Preferably the member 25 is movable about a vertical axis close to the base and as here shown it is mounted on a pivot stud 26 rigidly secured to the base approximately midway between the ends of the latter.

The pivotal axes 2.1 of the two supporting members are 7 off center and are spaced inwardly from the transverse center lines of the respective supporting members such distances as to provide each supporting member with a relatively long portion on the outer side of its axis, which portion is in direct engagement with the corresponding wheel suspension. Thus it will be apparent that should the outer end of the supporting member 15 tend to move downwardly, force would be exerted on the supporting member id, through the elongate members 24 and the connecting member 25 to move the supporting member 16 about its axis in a direction opposite the direction in which the supporting member 15 moves about its axis, thereby tending to move the outer end of the supporting member 16 downwardly the same distance that the outer end of the supporting member 15 moved downwardly and maintaining the load on the two supporting members substantially level.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4 this particular superstructure is adapted to move into a pit below the floor level, said pit being defined by a metalhousing 26a and the upper end of the housing being provided with doors 27 adapted to close the pit when the superstructure has been lowered into the pit. Mounted in the bottom wall of the housing 26 are two rods 28 the upper ends of which are arranged to engage the free edges of the two doors 27 and support those doors in horizontal closed positions, these rods being secured to the bottom wall by means including nuts 29 above the bottom wall of the housing. The base is provided with openings 30 through which the supporting rods 28 extend and in order that the base may be directly supported on the bottom of the housing it is provided with cup shape members 31 extending downwardly about the respective openings 30 and adapted to extend about the nuts 29 and engage the bottom wall of the housing. It is desirable that the floor at the opposite ends of the superstructure be provided with cavities to receive the respective front wheels of the vehicle and properly position the same with relation to the lift. As here shown, metal plates 32 having recessed portions 33 are rigidly secured to and extend outwardly beyond the upper edges of the end walls of the housing 26 and are rigidly braced against the housing by bars 34. Each plate 32 is provided with downwardly extending flanges 35 and these flanges and the plates 32 themselves may be embedded in a concrete floor with the top surface of the plates flush with the floor.

The superstructure, as above described, is designed primarily for use on a lift in which the superstructure is moved into a pit below floor level but is not limited to such use. By minor changes the superstructure can be modified to accommodate the same to a lift the superstructure of which is adapted to rest upon the floor when in its lowered position, the principal change required being to substitute for the upright members, or brackets, 19 other brackets of such height that the load supporting members will be located closer to the floor.

While we have shown and described one embodiment of our invention, we wish it understood that we do not desire to be limited to the details thereof as many modifications may occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having fully shown and described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A superstructure for a lifting mechanism comprising a base having means whereby it may be mounted on the upper end'of the movable element of said lifting mechanism, tiltable load supporting members mounted on said base adjacent the respective ends thereof on substantially parallel pivotal axes, each load supporting member having a part extending below the pivotal axis thereof, a connecting member mounted on said base for movement about a vertical axis between the ends thereof, elongate rigid members pivotally connected with said connecting member on the respective sides of said vertical axis and pivotally connected with the downwardly extending parts of the respective load supporting members.

2. A superstructure for a lifting mechanism comprising a base having means whereby it may be mounted on the upper end of the movable element of said lifting mechanism, tiltable load supporting members mounted on said base adjacent the respective ends thereof on substantially parallel pivotal axes, each of said supporting members having a load engaging part extending outwardly from its pivotal axis and also having a part extending downwardly beyond said axis, a connecting member pivotally supported between its ends on said base, and rigid members pivotally connected with the downwardly extending parts of the respective supporting members and pivotally connected with said connecting member on the respective sides of the pivotalaxis of the latter.

3. A superstructure for the front lifting mechanism of a two post vertical lift, said superstructure comprising an elongate base adapted to be secured to the upper end of the lifting element of said lifting mechanism and of a length less than the distance between the front wheels of a vehicle of a size which can be supported on said lift, tiltable load supporting members mounted on the respective end portions of said base on off-center axes above said base, said pivotal axes being arranged to provide each supporting member with a relatively long outer portion to engage a part of the adjacent front wheel suspension of a vehicle on said lift, each supporting member having a part extending downwardly below the pivotal axis thereof, rigid members pivotally connected with the respective downwardly extending parts below the pivotal axes of said supporting members and extending inwardly therefrom, and means connected with the inner end portions of said rigid members to tilt the same in opposite directions when either of said supporting members is moved about its said axis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,017,749 Gunther Feb. 20, 1912 1,254,527 Olson Jan. 22, 1918 2,326,684 Ross Aug. 10, 1943 2,467,056 Schmidtke Apr. 12, 1949 2,508,777 Smith May 23, 1950 2,543,260 Teegarden Feb. 27, 1951 2,653,677 Wallace Sept. 29, 1953 

